BMT Nigel Gee (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group, is pleased to announce
its latest partnership with Ares Shipyard (Ares) to design and build
seventeen patrol boats from advanced composites, for the Qatar Coastguard.
This order comprises three different vessel sizes: five of 23 metres
capable of speed in excess of 37 knots, 10 of 33 metres capable of achieving
30 knots and two of 46 metres also capable of 30 knots.

The "ARES 110 Hercules" multi-role patrol craft is intended
for littoral and coastal waters law-enforcement, open sea rescue operations
and naval duties. It is 33 meters in length and displaces 117 tons.
Its maximum speed is 47 knots.

BMT will
be responsible for the Naval Architecture, including hull development,
and class level design & engineering work on all three sizes of
vessel. BMT’s team of naval architects and engineers has worked
closely with Ares to develop the designs for the vessels which meet
the customer’s stringent performance and comfort requirements.

The "ARES 75 Hercules" multi-role patrol craft is also intended
for littoral and coastal waters law-enforcement, open sea rescue operations
and naval duties. It is 23 meters in length and displaces 58 tons. Its
maximum speed is 52 knots.

Kerim Kalafatoglu,
Managing Director of Ares Shipyard explains: “Developing a vessel
that far exceeds the customer’s expectations in both looks and,
performance, could only be made possible through the effective partnership
between BMT and Ares. A challenging project such as this, delivery 17
vessels in total, means that having a reliable and experienced partner
such at BMT Nigel Gee is all the more important.”

The larger "ARES 150 Hercules" multi-role patrol craft is intended
for offshore and littoral waters law-enforcement, open sea rescue operations
and naval duties. It is 46 meters in length and displaces 245 tons. Its
maximum speed is 40 knots.

Commenting
on the project John Bonafoux, BMT Nigel Gee’s Managing Director,
said: “We are delighted to continue our collaboration with Ares
and for the opportunity to extend and reinforce our expertise in high
speed patrol boats. We have worked with Ares on a wide variety of projects
and given the demand in the market for such specialist types of vessels,
we look forward to developing this relationship further.”
The project will last a period of 5 years with the first vessel on sea
trials early in 2016.